Resource to Understand the Stock Market Online

Investopedia: Investing 101 Tutorial

Yahoo Finance App and Website

Scottrade General Investment Portal

The Motley Fool

The Money Tree Investing Podcast

If you’ve never invested your money in the stock market, learning about it seems overwhelming. Not only are there several different stock exchanges and forms of trading, how do you compare information from the hundreds of different stock market experts and investment gurus? Some investment websites offer tutorials, while others have extensive resources and videos. Here are five of the best online resources you can turn to that will help in understanding the stock market.

Investopedia: Investing 101 Tutorial

An 8-part tutorial introduces you to all the basic concepts that are important in understanding how the stock market works. You will learn about the different types of investments, what portfolios are and a little bit about how to have the best one for your situation, and diversification and how it can protect investments. Other concepts like compounding and dividends are introduced, as well as specialized terminology.

Yahoo Finance App and Website

While all major web portals have a finance app and articles, Yahoo Finance is one of the most long-standing. It offers an intuitive, streamlined interface that garners praise from new and veteran investors. This app will let you create a personalized list of stocks and funds. You will get a news stream tied to your personalized list, and of course, stock quotes updated in real time. Yahoo Finance stock and company reports are also easy to read and understand, with key indicators clearly highlighted.

Scottrade General Investment Portal

One of the original low-cost brokerages, Scotttrade has a large, active online education area, with up to date articles, videos, and analysis. You can learn about the basics of investment, different account types, and simulate an online portfolio before you commit to investing any of your own money. With easy to understand investment and retirement planners, Scottrade is a good place to learn about investing and the stock market.

The Motley Fool

The Motley Fool is a long-standing investment website and multimedia company. The site has a investment starter section for beginners, constantly updated news and reports on nearly every industry sector and stock, and world-recognized stock market pundits and gurus. The site features an excellent Q & A section for common questions about financial facts, and an active community of investors with different experience levels and interests.

The Money Tree Investing Podcast

The Money Tree podcast comes highly-recommended for new investors. Hosts including Miranda Marquit, Joe Saul-Sehy, Linda P. Jones, and Douglas Goldstein host a wide array of expert guests every week. The Money Tree site also contains quick links to essential sites ranging from Morningstar to YCharts. Book recommendations endorsed by the podcast hosts include Rich Dad, Poor Dad and The Millionaire Fastlane. Previous podcasts are available online via the Money Tree website, with the weekly episode available via iTunes.

Understanding the stock market and how to invest for the highest returns is a skill that takes most people a lifetime. Different investment philosophies can seem overwhelming and at times, almost impossible to understand. Learning about the basics has never been easier, however, with sites like Yahoo and Investopedia filled with excellent videos, blogs, slide shares and more.